What is Link Velocity?
Link velocity in SEO is the rate at which a website or a page is acquiring backlinks. It is usually measure in links per month or referring domains per month.
The idea of link velocity is almost two decades old. It goes back to 2003 and the discovery of the Google Patent, called Information Retrieval Based on Historical Data.
The patent also included some ideas on how the search engine should treat websites based on their link growth. This is where the idea of ‘link velocity’ originated, even though the patent doesn’t mention the term anywhere.
However, it discusses a ‘spiky rate of growth’ in backlinks and says that it might cause the search engine to reduce the site’s score in an attempt to reduce any effects of spamming.
Still, many SEOs believe that link velocity does play a role in SEO and consider a key par of building a strong link profile.
Is Link Velocity Important for SEO?
There is mixed opinions within the SEO community surrounding the topic of link velocity and whether or not it impacts SEO.
Some SEOs argue that it’s important – and will go as far to say that it’s a ranking factor. Whereas others believe it has no real effect on rankings, whether positive or negative.
What Link Velocity is Good?
There are no absolute, one-size-fits-all numbers when it comes to ‘good’ link velocity. The best way to determine what ‘natural’ link growth should look like for your site is to implement a competitor link velocity analysis. You can do this by looking at the historical trends of top-ranking pages and your main competitors’ sites, and see how quickly they have gained links over the past few months.
